Mexican Museum project clears shadow hurdle

A slightly scaled-down proposal to house the Mexican Museum in a high-rise condominium building downtown cleared a major hurdle Thursday, but project opponents said their concerns about shadows means the battle isn’t over.

The Planning and Recreation and Park commissions agreed to exempt the construction of 47-story tower next to the 10-story Aronson building at Third and Mission streets from a city law limiting shadows. The museum would be located on the first four floors of the building, with up to 190 residential units above.

Developer Millennium Partners, which has pledged a $5 million endowment to the museum, agreed to lower the tower’s height 40 feet to 470 feet. Planning staff said that would reduce the amount of shadow cast over Union Square by 30 percent, leaving only a daily shadow for less than an hour that would be gone by 9:15 a.m.

“It’s a very early morning shadow that we put on the square before retail is open,” said project architect Glenn Rescalvo. “This area of San Francisco is the future in terms of architectural and cultural components, this building brings more life to that area.”

The 38-year-old museum has been considering a move to 706 Mission St. since 1993. But it has struggled to raise money, and its collection of more than 14,000 art works have been at Fort Mason Center since 1982.

The loudest complaints about shadows aren’t from environmental groups, but rather residents in their own pricey condominiums above the Four Seasons Hotel at 765 Market St, who say they are concerned about the new traffic the project will bring and shadows over smaller parks in their neighborhood. They’ve pledged to take their fight to the Board of Supervisors and possibly the courts.

“This project will completely overshadow them,” said Joseph Fang, president of the 765 Market St. Residential Owner’s Association. “We are opposed to this project and we are prepared to fight it all the way.”

Hisashi Sugaya, one of three Planning commissioners opposing the project, said developers should consider shrinking the tower further and said that doing so shouldn’t jeopardize funding for the museum.

“We’re being asked to think the developer can’t afford a $5 million endowment for the building?” he said.

But other Planning commissioners said they doubted that the Four Seasons residents really were concerned about shadows at all.

“Sitting through Transbay, I don’t remember as many concerns about shadows that I saw today,” said Commissioner Michael Antonini, referring to the planned 1,070-foot Transbay Transit Tower. “They’ve done a lot to modify it. … if there’s ever a project that has a lot of benefits for the public, this is one.”